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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
Felt very long. Dealt with many serious issues and that made it harder to read. I think there was supposed to be a message in there about women and choosing themselves, not what society tells them to. But very hard to find the message. I like when an author adds a lot of details, but this felt like everything was over explained and important details often got easily lost. I normally like Jennifer Weiner books, but this was a tough read for me.
I really enjoyed this book and seeing the characters over time as this country changed. There were some weird parallels to my own life. I thought about my mom a lot.
4.5 stars. Tiny nits to pick in that this felt a little Forrest Gump-esque in terms of the events of Bethie and Jo’s lives, but those can’t top the fact that once I picked this book up, I couldn’t put it down. Have a sister? Read this book. (Don’t have a sister? Read it anyway.)
This is an important book for readers’ eyes to be opened to the plights of those living non-conventional lives over the past 50 years. It’s a great book for promoting the importance of finding one’s place, owning it, and inclusivity.
This book follows Jo and Bethie- Jewish sisters raised in Detroit in the 1950s and follows them through the ups and downs of life as they fight to independence and freedom until present day. I liked this book and I love JW but feel this story went on too long...
In Jennifer Weiner’s longest novel to date, we follow two women as they explore the trials and tribulations of growing up in suburban Detroit.
As soon as Jo and Bethie Kaufman enter this world their roles are clearly defined, not only by their own parents, but society as a whole. As we follow these two women through the 50's, 60's, and 70's, we see them both change and come into their own versions of themselves. What is surprising, is the people we feel are the conformists are sometimes the complete opposite and may surprise you. Told in a span of several years, and jumping from sister to sister, we witness Jo and Bethie navigate womanhood according to the world going on around them.
Like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Little Women, it was an enjoyable read and plenty of content for a book discussion group.
As soon as Jo and Bethie Kaufman enter this world their roles are clearly defined, not only by their own parents, but society as a whole. As we follow these two women through the 50's, 60's, and 70's, we see them both change and come into their own versions of themselves. What is surprising, is the people we feel are the conformists are sometimes the complete opposite and may surprise you. Told in a span of several years, and jumping from sister to sister, we witness Jo and Bethie navigate womanhood according to the world going on around them.
Like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Little Women, it was an enjoyable read and plenty of content for a book discussion group.
I don’t know if she wrote authentically about Detroit. I wish she would have done a little move research on that. I loved the struggle these sisters had. I loved the era of time she wrote about. I couldn’t stop reading till the end.
This book sat on my nightstand for weeks but the few minutes I would spend reading it didn’t capture me at first. I read most of it in the last 24 hours and I am genuinely glad that I finished it.
The book covers many topics, and while I didn’t identify with most of the specific scenarios, I still appreciated the way the story is written from the perspective of two sisters, from childhood to their later years. As a mom, I could understand the feelings of not being good enough as a mother. While I didn’t relate to it, the mother-daughter relationship dynamic the two main characters had with their mom made me think of how my grandmother was with my mom and aunt at times. I think it may have been a generational thing.
The book covers many topics, and while I didn’t identify with most of the specific scenarios, I still appreciated the way the story is written from the perspective of two sisters, from childhood to their later years. As a mom, I could understand the feelings of not being good enough as a mother. While I didn’t relate to it, the mother-daughter relationship dynamic the two main characters had with their mom made me think of how my grandmother was with my mom and aunt at times. I think it may have been a generational thing.
Jo and Bethie start out as young girls in a new brick house in calm, 1950s Detroit. Their childhood is highlighted by all the ways they are different, all the ways they disappoint and are disappointed by their family members. But the book takes us from 2015 to 1950 and back through the years to the conclusion in 2016. For me, it was too much of a skim, too rushed through the decades and the touchstones of American culture and history. It was almost like a suburban woman's Forrest Gump. The later chapters in the 2000s felt particularly rushed and trying to cram in all the important points (except 9/11, strangely missing for a family with characters who lived in NYC) along with a very contentious character who never grew on me. It was good, and there were a lot of thoughtful musings on what it is and has been to be a woman in the US, but the epic sweep didn't work for me.